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3/26/2013

Simple Ruffle Skirt Tutorial

My youngest daughter really doesn't need any clothes because we have so many hand me downs from her big sister. That being said, she was beginning to get a little jealous when I kept making things for Lu, so I decided that she needed something of her own.

When I saw this fabric I knew it was perfect. Dogs wearing rain boots. There was just something about that just seemed to scream out "Ellie!" And she LOVES it. Do you want to make your own simple ruffle skirt?

I made my skirt essentially a size 2T around the waist. The skirt is long though, reaching about calf lenth on Ellie. I made it long on purpose. Since my older daughter is so thin it actually fits her and reaches about knee length on her. So by making it long I basically made a skirt that they could both wear. You could easily make it shorter though by simply making the pieces shorter.

Would you like to make your own?

Here's what you'll need:

The 12.5 inches long piece will be the top (waistband) part of the skirt. The 21.5 inch long piece will be the ruffle.

Ok, let's get started.

First sew both of the rectangles together to make two long rectangles. (I use a 5/8 inch seam allowance all of the time unless I state differently).

Then sew up the hem of the longest piece (the one made of the two 21.5 inch rectangles).

Now gather the opposite side by making a very loose stich and pulling it to make a gather so that the length matches the length of the top rectangle.

You should have two pieces now that look like this.

Now it's time to sew the top piece to the bottom piece. Place the right sides together..

And sew.

Now you can add trim if you'd like.

Now it's time to make the casing for the 1 inch elastic. Fold the top piece over and sew a straight line, making a passage for the elastic.

(You might notice that I actually
lined the top rectangle (which is why it looks white on the top).This isn't necessary, but can be a nice touch
if your fabric is very thin.

Now you can feed the elastic through. I do this by attaching a safety pin to the end of the elastic and using that to pull the elastic through. (This is easier than trying to pull the elastic by itself.

Once you've got the elastic through, sew the side seam of the skirt, making sure to reinforce the stich where it goes over both sides of the elastic.

And you're finished! I made the whole skirt in less than an hour. I love easy, rewarding projects like this. Please let me know if you have any questions or if something isn't clear.

If you'd like this pattern in PDF form, you can download it here for free. I'm beginning to put some of my tutorials on Craftsy for more exposure.